Cage trap with easy set and release mechanism

ABSTRACT

A cage-type animal trap having a hand grip mounted on the roof that moves bi-directionally between a first position near the front end of the trap and a second position near the rear end of the trap. An actuating cable is secured to the door and to the hand grip so that when the hand grip is moved by the user from a first position with the door closed to a second position with the door opened the trap can be set by a latch mechanism which releasably holds the hand grip in its second position. A pedal mounted inside the trap is moved by the weight of an animal to activate a trigger rod which moves a latch to release the hand grip from the second position and close the door, thus trapping the animal inside the trap. A paddle mechanism maintains the hand grip in its first position, and a door lock at the bottom of the door prevents the door from being opened by a trapped animal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to cage-type animal traps of the kind generallyused outdoors for trapping small to medium sized animals without harmingthe trapped animal. Such traps commonly comprise a cage of metal wiremesh or the like with a door held open by a trigger mechanism until ananimal is lured into the trap by suitable pre-inserted bait. After theanimal enters the interior of the trap, the animal's weight pressedagainst the trigger actuates a trip which releases and closes the door,thereby trapping the animal inside the cage.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Cage traps of the prior art have specific setting and releasingmechanisms which typically consist of a pan, a trigger rod, a latchingdevice, a door, a locking device and sometimes a spring member. To setthe trap, the locking device must be disengaged. A door is then openedand a latch is set. The location of each of these components on the traprequires the use of two hands. In order to release the trapped animal,once again the locking device must be disengaged, the door must be openand the latch set. Again, these steps require the use of two hands andinvolve close contact with the animal. There is thus a need for acage-type trap that provides the user with an easy, essentiallyone-handed method of setting the trap. There is also a need for acage-type trap where the user can easily release a trapped animalwithout subjecting the user to close contact with the trapped animal.

Another problem with the prior art cage traps is the trigger oractuation mechanism used to initiate the door closure. There is thus aneed for a system for providing an adjustable trigger which is sensitiveto weight thereby distinguishing among large and small animals so thatthe trap will not be inadvertently tripped by a small animal that is nota target of the trap.

It is to the solution of these and other problems that the presentinvention is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a cage-type animal trap thatincludes a wire mesh animal enclosure made up of a base, a pair ofopposed sidewalls emanating from the base, a rear wall secured to thesidewalls and the base, a roof secured to the tops of the sidewalls andthe rear wall, and a front end provided with an animal access openingdefined by the base, sidewalls, and roof. A door is movably mounted atthe front end and operates in an opened position to reveal the animalaccess opening and in a closed position to block the animal accessopening. An elongated rail is positioned on the roof along thelongitudinal axis of the roof.

A hand grip is mounted on the rail to move bi-directionally between afirst position toward the front end of the trap and a second positiontoward the rear wall of the trap. An actuating cable has one end securedto the bottom of the door and another end secured to the hand grip. Assuch, when the hand grip is in the first position forwardly on the railthe door is in the closed position and when the hand grip is in thesecond position rearwardly on the rail the door is in the openedposition. A latch mechanism is mounted at the rear end of the trap toreleasably hold the hand grip in its second position.

The trip mechanism is in the form of a pedal movably mounted in theanimal enclosure with a trigger rod secured to the pedal and to thelatch mechanism. When an animal enters the animal enclosure, the weightof the animal moves the pedal from a first raised position to a secondlowered position for causing the trigger rod to move the latch mechanismthereby releasing the hand grip. Releasing the hand grip results in thehandgrip moving from its second position to its first position and theweight of the door moving the door from the opened position to theclosed position thereby trapping the animal in the animal enclosure.

A paddle mechanism is located at the front end of the trap to lock thehand grip in its first position when the door is in the closed position.A door lock is positioned at the bottom of the door to prevent the doorfrom being opened from inside the trap by a trapped animal. Finally, anadjustment mechanism is provided at the rear of the trap to allow theuser to adjust the weight sensitivity of the pedal so that only ananimal of predetermined weight can move the pedal to trip the trap.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving an improved mechanism for safely and easily setting the trap.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving an improved mechanism for safely and easily releasing an animalfrom the trap.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cage trapwhich can be safely and easily set, and a trapped animal can be safelyand easily released, by the user using only one hand.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving an improved mechanism for distinguishing among animals ofdifferent weights so that the trap will only trip if an animal exceeds apredetermined weight.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cagetrap having a door lock to prevent a trapped animal from opening thetrap door and escaping from the trap.

Additional objects of the invention include, for example, the provisionof a cage trap which is durable, reliable and user friendly, which isanimal friendly and which traps the animal safely in a humane manner,and which can be manufactured from readily available components and in acost-effective manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of thisspecification including the accompanying drawings. While intending toillustrate the invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinventive trap in a set position with the door of the trap opened.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the wiremesh removed to more clearly show the trap in a set position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 1 in an intermediateposition with the door half way between the opened and closed positions.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 1 in a tripped positionwith the door closed.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a view taken along lines 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11A is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the wiremesh removed to more clearly show the trap in a tripped position.

FIG. 14 is a rear plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing how a pivot structure is mounted to thetop of the door forming part of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing how a pivot structure is mounted to thetop of the pedal forming part of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary view of a spring used in the door mechanism ofthe embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a front actuating assemblyforming part of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a partial view of the top of a rear latch assembly formingpart of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a bottom perspective view of the rear latch assembly shown inFIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a closeup of a portion of the rear latch assembly as shown inFIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the rear latch assemblyforming part of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of an edgeportion of the roof in the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing integral clipelements used to secure the roof to the upper edge portions of the sidewalls.

FIG. 25 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the mannerin which the clip elements of the roof in the embodiment of FIG. 1 areengaged with the wire mesh at the upper edge portions of a side wall ofthe cage housing.

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary view of a sidewall showing the use of crimpedrings to assemble the cage walls in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 27 is a fragmentary view of an alternative embodiment of thelatching mechanism forming part of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In describing preferred embodiments of the present invention illustratedin the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake ofclarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that eachspecific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in asimilar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, 7 and 8, the cage trap of the presentinvention is generally designated by reference numeral 10. Trap 10includes a box-like cage having an elongated base 12 and opposedsidewalls 14 and 16 preferably formed and folded from a single piece ofwire mesh. The sidewalls emanate from the longitudinal edges 18 and 20of the base 12 in an upward direction. The walls 14 and 16 define planesthat are essentially parallel to each other.

As seen particularly in FIGS. 1 and 3, in the preferred form of theinvention, the base 12 and side walls 14, 16 include wire elements 13,15 welded at their crossing points to form generally rectangularapertures 17, with the side walls bent up at right angles from the base.The rectangular apertures are approximately 1″ square.

The rear wall structure 36 of the trap is also made from a sheet of wiremesh in a generally rectangular configuration to form rear wall 22,having a bottom edge 24 and a top edge 26, and two sidewalls 28 and 30.

The two side walls 28 and 30 emanate perpendicular to and away from therear wall. As shown in FIG. 14, the lower half of walls 22, 28 and 30 ofthe wire mesh contains openings 25 that are approximately ½″ by 1″. Thetop half of the same walls of the wire mesh contains openings 27 whichare approximately 1″ square.

The rear wall structure 36 is positioned so that the bottom edge 24mates with the rear edge 21 of base 12. In like manner, the rearsidewalls 28 and 30 overlap the base sidewalls 14 and 16.

The rear wall structure 36 is attached to the base wall structurethrough the use of a series of circular wire rings that arestrategically crimped in place as shown, for example, by crimped rings32 in FIG. 26. For ease of review, the crimped rings are only shown inFIG. 26 with the realization that they are present in all of the viewsof the wire mesh. Further, the arrangement of the crimped rings 32 inFIG. 26 is by way of example. Any arrangements of the rings that holdthe wire mesh together are contemplated.

The basic cage structure is completed through the mounting of anelongated cover or roof 40 which may preferably be stamped from sheetmetal. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 14, the rectangular roof generallyconsists of a piece of sheet metal formed to provide a front edge 42,side edges 44 and 46, and rear edge 48. The sheet metal is bent at therear edge 48 to provide a downwardly extending rectangular shaped flange50 that is integral with the full length of the transverse edge 48.

The sheet metal is also bent upwardly at the side edges 44 and 46 toprovide upwardly extending flanges 54 and 56 and then bent downwardly toform longitudinally extending flanges 64 and 66 that span the fulllengths of the longitudinal side edges 44 and 46, respectively. Withreference to FIGS. 1, 15 and 25, the flange pairs 54-64 and 56-66 defineelongated channels 53 and 55 that fit over and receive the top edges ofwalls 14 and 16, respectively.

Defined along the surface of flange 54 of the cover 40 are a series ofstamped tabs 62 (FIGS. 1, 24 and 25). Similar tabs 62 are defined alongthe surface of flange 56 of the roof.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 14, the roof 40 is positioned andsecured to the previously assembled wire mesh structure in the followingmanner. The elongated cover 40 is positioned so that the longitudinallyextending channels 53 and 55 receive the top portions of the side walls14 and 16 and the rear wall 22. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 25, using sidewall 14 as an example, the top portion of the side wall is positionedwithin the channel 53 defined by flanges 54 and 64. The bendable tabs 62are then pressed inwardly (FIGS. 24 and 25) in the direction of flange64 and in this way, the bent tabs capture the upper portion of the sidewall 14 so that it cannot be separated from the roof structure. Similaraction takes place with regard to the bendable tabs 62 of flanges 56 and66 in order to secure the top portion of side wall 16 to the cover. Therear depending flange 50 extends over the top portion of the rear wall22 to provide a cover therefor.

A shown in FIGS. 1 and 15, a wire re-enforcing frame 111 is securedabout the opening 81 of the cage to the wire mesh of the cage bysuitably spaced bent fasteners 113. The top 115 of the wire frame 111spans across the top of each flange 54 and 64 to provide a support forthe actuating cable 34. When fully assembled, the various elementsconstituting the cage define a vacant interior 70 for receiving ananimal that is to be trapped.

In order to hold an animal within the enclosure, a trap door mechanismmust be provided. Such a mechanism is illustrated in FIGS. 1,2, 10, 16,and 18. The trap door mechanism, generally designated by referencenumeral 80, includes an elongated door 58 preferably made of sheetmetal. With reference to FIG. 16, the upper portion of the door 58contains a yoke 60 that is generally U-shaped with straight leg portions86 and 88 extending outwardly beyond the side edges 71 and 72 of thedoor panel. The lower portion 74 of the yoke is secured to the doorpanel through the use of bent tabs 75 and 76 formed in the door. Thestraight leg portions of the yoke are secured to the side edges of thedoor panel through the use of bent tabs 77 and 78 also formed in thedoor. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylindrically-shaped ends 86and 88 of the yoke 60 are received in mounting holes 102 and 104 definedin the flange portions 56 and 66. The holes 102 and 104 are positionedaft of the front opening 81 of the cage about one-third of the length ofthe longitudinal axis of the cage.

A door lock plate 106 is positioned horizontally and secured byfasteners 107 along the lower edge 108 of the door panel. Alternatively,the lock plate 106 could be an integral component of the door 58 ifstamped or otherwise formed in the door. A rectangular-shaped lockingwire yoke 110 has a lower portion 112 which wedges up against the cornercreated by the upper edge 114 of the door lock plate and the outersurface 68 of the door when the door is in the closed position. See FIG.8. The ends 116 and 118 of the yoke are rotatably positioned in mountingholes 122 and 124, respectively, provided in the flanges 56 and 66. Themounting holes 122 and 124 are located forward of the mounting holes 102and 104 provided for the door and aft of the front end 81 of the trap. Atorsion wire spring 126 is provided to bias the yoke in a downwarddirection toward the door. See FIG. 18.

The bottom portion 128 of the door lock plate contains a transverselyextending hole 130 (FIG. 2A) which receives one end 132 of the actuatingcable 34. The cable 34 passes beneath the bottom of the yoke 110 andover the surface 68 of the door panel in an upward direction to passover the top 115 of the wire frame 111 and over the cover 40. The cableis held in place on bottom portion 128 by crimp 96.

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, a rear latch assembly, generally designatedby reference numeral 150, is mounted on top of the roof 40 along thetrap longitudinal axis A. The rear latch assembly 150 includes a pair ofspaced mounting holes 152 and 154 defined on wing portions 156 and 158emanating from a housing 160. The assembly is fastened to the rearportion of the roof with suitable fasteners such as screws or the like(not shown) passing through the mounting holes. Mounted about a third ofthe distance aft of the front 81 of the trap also along the longitudinalaxis A is a front actuating assembly, generally designated by referencenumeral 170. This assembly contains a housing 172 from which emanatesmounting wings 174 and 176 that contain holes 177 and 178 for receivingmounting screws or the like (not shown).

As best seen in FIG. 3, the top portions of both the front actuatingassembly 170 and the rear latch assembly 150 include cylindrical bores145 and 146, respectively, which are arranged spaced from and generallyparallel to the longitudinal axis A of the roof. These bores are shapedto receive an elongated cylindrically shaped rod 138. An elongated handgrip 134 contains a bore 136 through its longitudinal axis. This bore issized so that grip 134 may be slidably mounted on the rod 138.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10-12, the rear portion 118 of the hand grip 134contains a recess 116 and a vertically oriented support member 90 thatglides along the roof surface as the grip slides along the rod 138. Thefront end of the grip 134 contains a forwardly extending handle cablepocket 100. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 11A, the pocket 100 consists of alongitudinally extending bore 98 that receives the other end of thecable 34. This end of the cable is held in place also through a wirecrimp 96. The forwardmost portion of the handle cable pocket 100contains a transverse cross piece 94 which, as will be explained later,engages with the front actuating assembly to provide a safety lock toprevent the hand grip 134 from sliding rearwardly, thereby insuring thatthe door of the trap stays closed during transport.

The recess 116 defined in the rearward end 118 of the handle 134 isdefined in part by an indented ledge 92 that is shaped to mate with arear latch 157 in a manner to be described hereinafter.

With reference to FIGS. 10-12, and 19, the front actuating assembly,generally designated by reference numeral 170, consists of basicallyfour parts, a front housing 172, a front paddle mechanism 171 that ismovably mounted within the housing, and a torsion wire spring 173 thatis secured to the front paddle to bias the paddle in the downwarddirection relative to the front actuating assembly 170.

As best seen in FIG. 19, the front paddle mechanism 171 consists of acylindrical shaft 175 which terminates in a paddle handle 167 that canbe moved by the thumb or fingers of the user in order to rotate thefront paddle 171. About half way along the cylindrical axis of shaft175, an engaging foot 179 is defined. The engaging foot contains anextended downwardly projecting toe 148 which, in use, engages with thecross bar 94 of the hand grip 134 in order to hold the handle in placeafter the trap has been tripped and the door panel is closed. Withreference to FIG. 11A, it can be seen that the spring 173 biases theengaging foot 179 into the area 100 defined behind the cross bar 94 inthe hand grip 134.

FIG. 19 shows how the front actuating assembly 170 may be assembled. Asoriented in FIG. 19, the cylindrical housing 172 is supported on a pairof downwardly-extending walls 41 and 43 that mate respectively withmounting wings 174 and 176. Each of the walls contains a cutout 166 thatis sized to allow passage of the engaging foot 179 from outside theactuating assembly 170 into a space 45 defined between the walls 41 and43. The top 47 of each cutout defines half of a round hole to receivethe smaller cylindrical portions of shaft 49. A U-shaped wedge 51 isinserted from underneath the housing 172 so that each leg 57 and 59fills the spaces 166. The top 61 of each leg is shaped to complete theround hole for rotatably receiving the portions 49 of shaft 175.

With reference to FIGS. 5, 12, 17 and 20-23, the rear latch assembly 150consists of essentially five pieces. The first piece is a rear housing151. At the aft end of the rear housing there is a vertically extendingbore 153 which is sized to receive a cylindrically shaped springtensioner 155. Defined within the interior of the rear housing 151 is anopening to receive a rear latch 157. A rear housing insert 159 holds thelatch 157 in place so that it may rotate about a transverse axis B. Therear end of the rear latch 157 contains a bore 161 for receiving one endof a compression spring 163. The other end of the compression spring inreceived within a cylindrical indentation 165 formed in the bottom ofthe spring tensioner. The forward end of the rear latch 157 contains alatching mechanism 121. This latching mechanism includes a downwardlyprojecting hook 123 having an opening 125 for receiving and holding thetop section 141 of a rectangular-shaped yoke wire member 143 that hasits free ends 135 and 137 secured to pedal 19 near the top edge by benttabs 82 and 84, respectively.

The pedal 19 serves as the trip mechanism in accordance with the presentinvention. The bottom end of pedal 19 is rotatably secured to the bottomof the cage by bent crimps 79 which are evenly spaced along the bottomedge and bent around one of the wires of the wire mesh. The front end ofthe rear latch also includes a ledge 127 for receiving and holding thelatch portion 92 at the rear 118 of the hand grip 134.

In order to set the trap 10, it is first placed on the ground orsupporting surface. The front paddle 171 of the front actuating assembly170 is then rotated in a clockwise direction by the user manipulatingpaddle handle 167, thus rotating the engaging foot 179 out of the crossbar opening 100 of the hand grip 134. This allows the user to move thehandle along the longitudinal axis of the rod 138 in a rearwarddirection toward the rear latch assembly 150 with one hand, while thehandle grip is also supported by the glide member 90. It is again notedthat the actuating cable 34 passes underneath the lower portion 112 ofthe locking wire yoke 110, as shown in FIGS. 8, 10 and 13. Thisarrangement of components assures that the locking wire yoke 110automatically disengages from the lock plate 106 as the hand grip 134 ismoved away from its forward position adjacent the front actuatingassembly 170. Accordingly, a trapped animal can be released by a personlocated at the rear of the trap by disengaging the hand grip 134 fromthe front actuating assembly 170 and moving the hand grip 134 rearwardlyon rail 138.

Once the hand grip 130 is released from the front assembly 170, the grip134 can be moved rearwardly until the recess 116 of the grip engages theupward portion of the latch 127 so that the latch holds the handle inits rearwardmost position. Rearward movement of the handle 134 resultsin the cable 34 moving in a rearward direction to rotate the door 58about ends 86 and 88 in an upward direction and set the door in a loadedposition. Having accomplished this action with one hand, the trap is nowset awaiting the entrance of an animal to activate the trap.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, in order to entice the animal into thetrap, a suitable bait is inserted into the interior of the trap aft ofthe pedal 19. When the animal enters the trap and steps on the pedal 19,the pedal is rotated in a downward direction which causes the topsection 141 of the yoke or trigger rod 143 to pull the latch 121 in adownward direction thereby releasing the recess 116 of handle 134 fromengagement with the latch ledge 127. When this happens, the weight ofthe door 58 causes the door to rotate in a downward direction to rapidlyclose the interior space 70 and trap the animal within the cage 10. Asused herein, the term “trigger rod” is intended to have its broadestmeaning and can include cable or other trigger mechanisms to releasehandle 134 from latch ledge 127 when pedal 19 is rotated to its downwardposition. In addition, those skilled in the art can appreciate that thetrigger rod 143 could be a single rod and could be formed with latchmechanism 121 as one piece, such as by molding; and the pedal 19 couldalso be integral with the rod 143. Other trip mechanisms with which theanimal interacts, as by pulling, could be substituted for pedal 19 andbe formed as part of the trigger rod.

Downward rotation of the door 58 also moves the handle grip 134 to itsforwardmost position with cross-piece 94 moving past engaging foot 179,to lock the hand grip 134 into the front actuating assembly. At the sametime, as best seen in FIGS. 8 and 18, the downwardly biased yoke 112through the urging of torsion spring 126 presses up against the topsurface 68 of door 58 and is lodged in the corner created by the upperedge 114 of the door lock plate 128 and the top surface 68 of the doorwhen the door is in the closed position. Under these conditions, if theanimal tries to open the door, the bottom of the yoke will press againstthe door latch plate preventing the animal from rotating the door in anupward direction.

When the user desires to release a trapped animal, the user follows aprocedure similar to setting the trap. The engaging foot 179 of thefront actuating assembly 170 is disengaged from the handle cable pocket100 at the front end of the hand grip 134 by the user manipulating thepaddle handle 167. The grip 134 is then free to slide rearward on rail138 by the user's hand to open the door 58 by the pulling action ofcable 34. Initial rearward movement of the grip 134 tensions theactuating cable 34 which causes the locking yoke 110 to be lifted in anupward direction disengaging from the top edge 114 of the door lockplate 106 by the urging of the end 132 of the actuating cable 34.Sliding the grip 134 to its most rearward position engages the grip tothe latch mechanism 150 which resets the trap.

Another feature of the present invention is an adjustable pedalsensitivity feature. This is accomplished, as shown in FIG. 23, byproviding an upwardly extending ledge 101 near the bottomcircumferential ledge 103 of the spring tensioner 155. When the springtensioner 155 is rotated within the vertically extending bore 153, thecompressive force on the spring 163 may be changed by the displacementof the spring tensioner 155 in a downward direction against one end ofthe spring 163 based on the clearance provided within the assemblythrough the use of a series of indentations 105A-105E positionedradially about the bottom 109 of the bore 153 within the rear housing151. In this way, the tension required on the pedal to activate the trapcan be adjusted so that if a small animal enters the trap, the weight ofthe animal will not trip the trap.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theillustrated embodiments described herein. Modifications and variationsof the above described embodiments of the present invention are possibleas appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the aboveteachings. For example, as shown in FIG. 27, the moving hand grip 134and rail 138 system could be eliminated. The cable 34 could terminate ina simple hook 23 at the latch end. The hook structure would includeglide member 90 to support the hook to facilitate tripping the trap.This embodiment would not be as user friendly and would require aseparate carrying handle but does work for functionality. In addition,the pedal 19 and trigger rod 143 could be replaced with a combinationbait holder/rod that would activate the latching mechanism when it waspulled or moved a certain distance.

1. An animal trap comprising: an animal enclosure having a roof and ananimal access opening into a vacant interior sized to receive an animalto be trapped; a door movably mounted at the access opening, the dooroperative in an opened position to reveal the animal access opening andin a closed position to block the animal access opening; an actuatingcable having first and second ends, the first end being secured to thedoor; a latch mechanism mounted toward a rear end of the trap forreleasably securing the second end of the actuating cable; a tripmechanism movably mounted in the interior of the animal enclosure; and atrigger rod secured to the trip mechanism and to the latch mechanism sothat when an animal enters the interior of the animal enclosure andmoves the trip mechanism from a first position to a second position, thetrigger rod moves the latch mechanism thereby releasing the second endof the actuating cable and resulting in the door moving from the openedposition to the closed position thereby trapping the animal in theanimal enclosure.
 2. The animal trap of claim 1, wherein the animalenclosure includes a base, a pair of opposed sidewalls emanating fromthe base, and a rear wall secured to the sidewalls and the base, withthe roof being secured to the tops of the sidewalls and the rear wall,and the animal access opening being defined by the base, sidewalls, androof.
 3. The animal trap of claim 1, further comprising: an elongatedrail positioned on the roof; a hand grip mounted on the rail to movebi-directionally between a first position near the access opening and asecond position away from the access opening and connected to saidsecond end of the actuating cable so that when the hand grip is in thefirst position the door is in the closed position and when the hand gripis in the second position the door is in the opened position; and saidlatch mechanism mounted a predetermined distance from the access openingto releasably hold the hand grip in its second position.
 4. The animaltrap of claim 3, wherein said hand grip can be moved on said rail fromsaid first position to said second position by a single hand of a userto move the trap to an open position.
 5. The animal trap of claim 3,further comprising a paddle mechanism located at the front end of thetrap to lock the hand grip in its first position when the door is in theclosed position.
 6. The animal trap of claim 3, wherein said hand gripautomatically moves on said rail from said second position to said firstposition when said latch mechanism is released and said door moves tosaid closed position.
 7. The animal trap of claim 3, further comprisinga door lock associated with the door for preventing the door from beingopened by a trapped animal and wherein movement of said hand grip awayfrom said first position automatically disengages said door lock fromsaid door to permit the door to be opened.
 8. The animal trap of claim1, wherein the trip mechanism is a pivoting pedal actuated from saidfirst position to said second position by said animal's weight.
 9. Theanimal trap of claim 1, wherein the latch mechanism further comprises amechanism for adjusting the weight sensitivity of the pedal so that onlyan animal exceeding a predetermined weight can move the pedal to tripthe trap.
 10. The animal trap of claim 1, further comprising a door lockassociated with the door for preventing the door from being opened by atrapped animal.
 11. An animal trap comprising: an animal enclosure madeup of a base, a pair of opposed sidewalls emanating from the base, arear wall secured to the sidewalls and the base, a roof secured to thetops of the sidewalls and the rear wall, and a front end provided withan animal access opening defined by the base, sidewalls, and roof; adoor pivotally mounted at the front end operative in an opened positionto reveal the animal access opening and in a closed position to blockthe animal access opening; an elongated rail positioned on the roofsubstantially perpendicular to a pivotal axis of said door; a hand gripmounted on the rail to move bi-directionally between a first positionadjacent a front end of the elongated rail and a second positionadjacent a rear end of the elongated rail; an actuating cable having oneend secured to the door and another end secured to the hand grip so thatwhen the hand grip is in the first position the door is in the closedposition and when the hand grip is in the second position the door is inthe opened position; a latch mechanism mounted adjacent the rear end ofthe elongated rail to releasably hold the hand grip in its secondposition; a trip mechanism movably mounted in the animal enclosure; anda trigger rod secured to the trip mechanism and to the latch mechanismso that when an animal enters the animal enclosure and moves the tripmechanism from a first position to a second position, the trigger rodmoves the latch thereby releasing the hand grip resulting in thehandgrip moving from its second position to its first position and thedoor moving from the opened position to the closed position therebytrapping the animal in the animal enclosure.
 12. The animal trap ofclaim 11, further comprising a paddle mechanism located at the front endof the trap to lock the hand grip in its first position whereby the dooris in the closed position.
 13. The animal trap of claim 11, furthercomprising a safety latch positioned at the front of the trap to holdthe door in a closed position when the hand grip is in its firstposition.
 14. The animal trap of claim 11, wherein movement of the handgrip from the trap and can be accomplished by the user with one hand.15. The animal trap of claim 11, wherein said trip mechanism is a pedaland the latch mechanism further comprises a mechanism for adjusting theweight sensitivity of the pedal so that only an animal exceeding apredetermined weight can move the pedal to trip the trap.
 16. The animaltrap of claim 11, further comprising a door lock secured to the door forpreventing the door from being opened by a trapped animal.
 17. An animaltrap comprising: an animal enclosure having an animal access openinginto a vacant interior sized to receive an animal to be trapped; a doormovably mounted at the access opening, the door operative in an openedposition to reveal the animal access opening and in a closed position toblock the animal access opening; an adjustable latch mechanism mountedon the trap for releasably securing the door in the opened position; apedal movably mounted in the interior of the animal enclosure; a triggersecured to the pedal and to the latch mechanism so that after an animalenters the interior of the animal enclosure, the weight of the animalmoves the pedal from a first position to a second position for causingthe trigger to move the latch mechanism to release the door so that thedoor moves from the opened position to the closed position therebytrapping the animal in the animal enclosure; and said latch mechanismadjusting a weight sensitivity of the pedal so that only an animal of apredetermined weight can move the pedal to trap the animal.
 18. Theanimal trap of claim 17, wherein the adjustable latch mechanismincludes: a compression spring for providing a compressive force withinthe latch mechanism; and a tension adjusting element compressing thespring at different predetermined amounts for adjusting the value of thecompressive force applied to the latch mechanism and thereby adjustingthe weight sensitivity of the pedal.
 19. The animal trap of claim 17,further comprising: a roof; an elongated rail positioned on the roof; ahand grip mounted on the rail to move bi-directionally between a firstposition near the access opening and a second position away from theaccess opening and connected to said second end of the actuating cableso that when the hand grip is in the first position the door is in theclosed position and when the hand grip is in the second position thedoor is in the opened position; and said latch mechanism mounted apredetermined distance from the access opening to releasably hold thehand grip in its second position.
 20. The animal trap of claim 17,wherein movement of the hand grip from the trap and can be accomplishedby the user with one hand.
 21. An animal trap comprising: an animalenclosure having an animal access opening into a vacant interior sizedto receive an animal to be trapped; a door pivotally mounted on saidenclosure for operation between an open position to reveal the animalaccess opening and a closed position to block the animal access opening;an actuating cable having first and second ends, the first end beingsecured to the door; a latch mechanism mounted on said enclosure forreleasably securing the second end of the actuating cable; a tripmechanism movably mounted in the interior of the animal enclosure; and atrigger mechanism secured to the trip mechanism and to the latchmechanism so that when an animal enters the interior of the animalenclosure and moves the trip mechanism from a first position to a secondposition, the trigger mechanism causes the latch mechanism to releasethe second end of the actuating cable resulting in the door moving fromthe open position to the closed position thereby trapping the animal inthe animal enclosure.
 22. The animal trap of claim 20, furthercomprising a door lock associated with the door for preventing the doorfrom being opened by a trapped animal.
 23. The animal trap of claim 22,wherein said door lock can be released by movement of said actuatingcable.
 24. The animal trap of claim 22, further comprising a hand grippositioned on an elongated rail mounted on said animal enclosure, saidhand grip moving bi-directionally between a first position near theaccess opening and a second position away from the access opening andconnected to said second end of the actuating cable so that when thehand grip is in the first position the door is in the closed positionand when the hand grip is in the second position the door is in theopened position.
 25. The animal trap of claim 24, wherein said door lockis automatically released by movement of said hand grip away from saidfirst position.